Convertible steam-heating system.



W. H. GARDINER, JR. CONVERTIBLE STEAM HEATING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 22.19l4.

Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

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WITNESSES:

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coLnMnlA PLANOGRAPH c0 WASHINGTON. IL L W. H. GARDINER, JR. CONVERTIBLE STEAM HEATING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 22,1914. 1,160,8F5.

Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

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WITNESSES: JINVENTUR I W/Aam H C avr'amer J1 WM W COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH c 000000 Hmn'rom n. C

TIMTED ETATEE PATENT OFFTEE.

WILLIAM H. GARDINER, JB., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB TO CONSOLIDATED CAR-HEATING- COMPANY, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK, A. CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

CONVERTIBLE STEAM-HEATING SYSTEM.

Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

Application filed July 22, 1914. Serial No. 852,455.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. GARDI- KER, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Convertible Steam- Heating Systems, the following being a full, clear, and exact disclosure of the one form of my invention which I at present deem preferable.

For a detailed description of the present form of my invention, reference may be had to the following specification and t0 the accompanying drawings, which illustrate my invention, wherein Figure 1 shows the essential parts of my invention. as it is used in practice; Figs. 2 and 3 show the details of the drip device; Figs. l and 5 are diagrams of my system under different conditions.

My invention relates. to steam-heating systems convertible to either the vapor or pressure type without any alteration in the trap itself but only in the connection of it with respect to the piping. In brief, 1 place a reversing valve between-the supply pipe on the one hand and entrance and eXit pipes of the system on the other hand, whereby the valve-chamber of the trap, wherein the valve is located, becomes either the head end or the tail end of the steam route through the radiator according to the direction given to the flow by the reversing valve. in one case the valve will control the inflow of steam to the radiator and in the other case the outflow of steam from the radiator, being in one case of the vapor type and in the other case of the pressure of heating system. The reversal includes the connection of that end of the radiator pipe which may be the tail end to the thermostat chamber of the trap.

Referring to Fig. l of the drawing, T represents the train pipe of a railway car, from which branch pipes t t lead to the radiator pipes on the two respective sides of the car through the uprights 1, 1 and the hand valves 2, 2. Since the arrangement is duplicated on the two sides of the car, it will only be necessary to describe one.

From the hand valve 2 a pipe 3, which may be designated as the supply-pipe, leads to a four-way reversing valve B. Thls valve is of the ordinary four-way type, the inflo o t m fr m s pp y-P pe 3 e g directed either to the right into the pipe 7, or to the left into the pipe l, the pipe 4; in the former case and the pipe 7 in the latter case being by the same operation, connected with pipe 8 which leads to the thermostatchamber D of the automatic controlling valve. The valve-chamber ofthe automatic valve is indicated at E, the said pipe 4 being connected therewith on one side of the valve member and the radiator pipe 5 on the other side of the valve member. The thermostat-chamber is indicated at D and, as usual, will contain a thermostat controlling the valve in the valve-chamber. The automatic valve is a well known device and need not be shown in detail. The particu lar one which is indicated in the drawing is the invention of James F. McElroy, being designed to go under the seat of a car with only the discharge pipe thereof projecting down through the floor of the car. A diagram of such a trap is shownin Figs. 4 and 5 as a means of illustrating the route of the steam flow for the different positions of valve B. Other forms of automatic valve may, however, be used. The pipe 8 leads to the thermostat-chamber of the trap and the pipe 7 leads to the opposite end of the radiator pipe, viz. to pipe Assuming that the valve B is turned to connect supply-pipe 3 to pipe 4: and pipe 7 to pipe 8, then the flow of steam will be as indicated by the full-line arrows in Fig. 1 and by the diagram of Fig. a. That is to say, the steam will first go to valve chamber E and, after passing the valve therein, will go to the radiator R by way of pipe 5 and, after flowing through the radiator and losing its heat therein, will go, by pipes 6, 7 and 8, to thermostat chamber D and act on the thermostat to open or cloes the valve according to the amount of heat in the outflow. The valve-chamber E is, in this case, at the head end of the steam route, the tail end thereof being pipes 6 and 7 which discharge through pipe 8 into the thermostat chamber. The valve will then control the inflow of steam to the radiator and the system will be of the vapor type. Assuming, on the other hand, that valve B is turned to connect supply-pipe 3 to pipe 7 and pipe 4 to pipe 8, then the steam flow will be reversed, as indicated by the dotted-line arrowsin Fig. 1 and by the diagram of Fig. 5 entering the radiator through pipes 7 and 6 and departing therefrom by pipe 5, valve-chamber E and pipes 4L and 8 leading to the thermostat chamber D. The valve-chamber E will then be near the tail end of the steam route, and the valve therein will control the outflow of steam from the radiator, the system then being of the pressure type. It will be observed that I make no change in the structure or adjustment of the trap itself, but merely shift the valve-chamber thereof to the head end or the tail end of the steam route through the radiator by reversing the steanrflow by means of valve B.

@n supply-pipe 3, I find it advisable to place anautomatic 'drip C, the details of which are shown in Figs. 2 and 3. In the casing of this device is a thermostat C which controls the inlet valve C to open it when the temperature of the thermostat becomes too low and close it again when the temperatureisrestored to the closing value.

VVhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A convertible steam-heating system comprising a radiator, a supply pipe, an automatic valve having a valve chamber and a thermostatic chamber, the valve chamber being connected to one end of the radiator on one side of the valve, and means for selectively connecting said supply pipe with said valve chamber on the opposite side of said valve-and simultaneously connecting'the other end of the radiator with said thermostat chamber or vice versa.

2. A convertible steam-heating system comprising a radiator pipe, an admission pipe, an automatic valve having a valvechamber and a thermostat chamber, the valve-chamber being connected on one side of the valve to one end of the radiator pipe, means for connecting said valve-chamber on the opposite side of the valve either to said admission pipe or to the thermostat-chamber at Will, and for connecting the opposite end of the radiator pipe either'to the admission pipe or to the thermostat chamber at will.

3. A convertible steam heating system comprising a" radiator, a supply pipe therefor, an automatic valve containing a valvechamber' and a thermostat-chamber, and a controlling valve communicating with said valve chamber and provided with means for reversingthe steam flow through the radiator to selectively bring the valve-chamber and valve therein at either the head end or the tail-end of the steam-flow route, and to correspondingly place either end of the radiator into communication with said thermostat chamber.

4. A convertible steam-heating system comprising a radiator, a supply pipe, an automatic valve having a valve-chamber connected to one end of the radiator, and a thermostat-chamber, and a valve communicating with said valve chamber and providedwith means for directing the supplied steam to either end of the radiator. and to correspondingly place the other end of the radiator into communication with said thermostat chamber.

5. A convertible steam-heating system comprisinga radiator, a supply pipe, an automatic valve having a valve-chamber connected to one end of the radiator, and a thermostat-chamber, and a valve communicating with said valve chamber and provided with means for directing the supplied steam to either end of the radiator, and to correspondingly place the other end of the radiator into communication with said thermostat chamber, and an automatic drip'device attached to the supply pipe.

6. A. convertible steam-heating system comprising a radiator, a supply pipe, an automatic valve having a valve-chamber and a thermostat-chamber', and a valve communieating with said valve chamber and provided with means for directing the supplied steam directlyinto oneend of said radiator or indirectly through the valve-chamber of the trap into the other end of the radiator and for simultaneously connecting the out flow end of the radiator with said thermostat chamber, either directly or throughsaid valve-chamber.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set myhand, before two subscribingwitnesses, this20th day of July, 1914.

WILLIAM H. GARDINER, J R.

Witnesses:

HER'HER'I" A. cALKINs ERNEST D. JANSEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

